Panty-hose

ABSTRACT

A unitary piece of knit fabric forms the main body portion and the crotch portion of a panty having at opposite sides, respectively, two vertical seams extending from the upper to the lower edge of the main portion, the two panty portions being integral (without any interconnecting seam) and defining leg openings; and an elastic waist band may be seamed to the main body portion along its upper edge. A pair of stockings of knit fabric are joined at their upper ends by expandible seams to the panty around the respective leg openings. The panty fabric offers substantially greater resistance to lateral stretch than the stocking fabric, whereby the panty effectively resists downward displacement on the wearer&#39;&#39;s body under the increased tension created in the garment incident to bending movements of the wearer.

United States Patent Wehrmann [is] 3,678,515 1 1 July 25,1972

1541 PANTY-HOSE [21] Appl. No.: 68,996

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 1,214,554 11/1959 France ..2/224R 2,017,339 5/1970 France ..2/224R Primary ExaminerH. Hampton Hunter Auorney-Davis, Hoxie, Faithfull & l-llapgood [5 7] ABSTRACT A unitary piece of knit fabric forms the main body portion and the crotch portion of a panty having at opposite sides, respectively, two vertical seams extending from the upper to the lower edge of the main portion, the two panty portions being integral (without any interconnecting seam) and defining leg openings; and an elastic waist band may be seamed to the main body portion along its upper edge. A pair of stockings of knit fabric are joined at their upper ends by expandible seams to the panty around the respective leg openings. The panty fabric offers substantially greater resistance to lateral stretch than the stocking fabric, whereby the panty effectively resists downward displacement on the wearers body under the increased tension created in the garment incident to bending movements of the wearer.

1 1 Clalnn, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEU JULZS I972 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. NICHOLAS WEHRMA PANTY-IIOSE THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to ladies garments and more particularly to improved pantyhose.

Garments of the panty-hose type as made heretofore leave much to be desired. In many instances, even when initially donned, they fail to hold the stockings so as to present the desired smooth and snug-fitting appearance. Moreover, even when they present this desired appearance initially, they fail to maintain it afier body movements of the wearer which subject the garment to increased tension in the longitudinal direction of the legs. For example, when the wearer bends substantially at the knees, the panty slides downwardly due to the increased longitudinal tension in the garment and remains essentially in its lowered position when the wearer returns to an erect posture, with the result that the stockings acquire a loose and unsightly appearance.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a panty-hose garment which overcomes these objectionable characteristics of prior garments of this type and yet is comfortable to the wearer at all times.

In a panty-hose garment made according to the invention, the panty comprises a unitary piece of knit fabric forming a main body portion and a crotch portion which define leg openings, there being two seams located at opposite sides of the panty, respectively, and extending vertically from the upper edge to the lower edge of its main body portion. Thus, the latter portion and the crotch portion are integral; that is, they are not separate fabric pieces seamed to each other. An elastic waist band may be seamed to the main body portion along its upper edge. The stockings of the panty-hose are also of a knit fabric, and the stockings are joined by seams to the panty around the respective leg openings.

An essential feature of the invention, in combination with the seamless crotch portion, is that the panty fabric includes a substantial proportion of spandex yarn and differs significantly from the stocking fabric in stretch characteristics. More particularly, as compared to the stocking fabric, the panty fabric offers substantially greater resistance to lateral stretch (i.e., transversely of the garments length) over each increment of stretch measured as a percentage of the maximum stretch. Preferably, the panty fabric also has a substantially greater capacity for this lateral stretch than the stocking fabric, this capacity being measured in terms of the maximum lateral stretch per linear unit (e.g., per inch) of unstretched fabric. Of

course, the maximum stretch is considered as the greatest amount of stretch which the fabric can undergo from its unstretched or relaxed condition without impairing its ability to return to essentially its original dimension when the stretching force is released.

With the new construction, not only will the panty readily accommodate a wide range of variations in the size of the wearer but also, for any size in that range, the panty will efiectively resist the usual downward creeping due to the increased longitudinal tension created in the stockings by bending movements of the wearer.

In the preferred construction, the panty tapers gradually upward from the lower ends to the upper ends of the vertical side seams, so that the panty is contoured to impose an extra resistance to downward slipping of the panty on the wearer's body. Also, the seams joining the stockings to the panty are preferably of the type which allow the seams to expand in their longitudinal direction, that is, seams of the break-open overedging type. Such seams do not interfere appreciably with the lateral stretching of the spandex-yarned panty and therefore enable the panty portion to be made narrow enough so the stretchcharacteristics of the panty can act fully in retaining the panty against downward displacement on the wearer's body.

The knitted fabric used for the stockings of the new garment need not include spandex yarns but may consist of yarns such as stretch nylon. Preferably, however, the stocking fabric is knitted from yarns consisting of or including spandex. In the latter case, if the stockings are provided with welts, the latter either include no spandex yarns or include a substantially smaller percentage thereof than the remainder of the stockings. In this way, the welts (formed by at least a double thickness of the stocking fabric) avoid undue restriction on the lateral stretch of the panty to which they are seamed.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a front elevational view of an example of the new garment as worn, with lower parts broken away;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the unitary panty-forming fabric as cut and prior to seaming at the sides;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view, partly in perspective, showing the seam joining the panty to the welt of a stocking, and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the new garment comprises a panty l0 seamed to hosiery consisting of stockings II and 12. The panty is made from a unitary piece 13 of circular-knit fabric which finishes tubular and is cut as illustrated in FIG. 2. As there shown, the piece 13 includes a rear section 14 and a front section 15, the piece 13 being cut away or indented at 16 and 17 from opposite sides between these sections to provide leg openings when certain edges of the piece 13 are seamed together. More particularly, the rear section 14 has lateral edge portions and 14b which are seamed to lateral edge portions and 15b, respectively, of front section 15. The seams joining these edge portions are shown at 18 and 19, respectively in FIG. 1.

Thus, when the sections 14 and 15 are seamed together as described, they form a panty having a main body portion 20 and a crotch portion 21 (FIG. I), the crotch portion being formed by the narrow section 21 located between the indents l6 and I7 and interconnecting the rear and front sections 14-45, as shown in FIG. 2. The leg openings formed by the indents I6 and I7 are indicated at 16a and 17a, respectively, in FIG. I. As also shown in FIG. 1, the seams l8 and 19 are located at opposite sides of the panty and extend vertically from the lower edge to the upper edge of its main body portion 20.

An elastic waist band 22 is seamed to the pantys main body portion 20 along its upper edge (FIG. I). The seam joining the band 22 to the panty proper is of the type which expands and thus does not interfere with lateral stretch of the panty and its waist band.

It will be apparent that because the panty piece 13 (FIG. 2)

is unitary and cut and seamed as described, the crotch portion 21 is integral with the main body portion 20 (FIG. I). In other words, there is no seam between these two portions of the panty.

The stockings 11 and 12 are provided at their upper ends with welts 24 and 25, respectively, which extend entirely around the stockings (FIG. I), the two welts being identical. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the welt 24 is formed by folding inward and downward the upper portion of stocking 11 so as to provide two fabric layers, and then securing the two layers together at 25a (FIG. 3). The stocking welts 24 and 25 are secured to the panty 10 around its leg; openings 16a and 17a, respectively, by seams 26. As shown particularly in FIGS. 3 and 4, each seam 26 is of the break-open, over-edging type, which permits the seam to expand lengthwise of the seam and also avoids bulkiness of the seam.

The panty piece 13 (FIG. 2) is knit from yarns of two different kinds, namely, (l) a yarn of spandex fibers, such fibers being characterized by extremely high stretchability and by good elastic recovery and (2) a yarn of synthetic fibers such as stretch nylon fibers. For example, the yarns may consist of 70 denier raw spandex and 50 denier stretch nylon fibers, and the circular knitting of these yarns is preferably effected with 28 needles to an inch. If desired, the knitting may be effected in a manner well known in the art whereby the fabric piece 13 has a substantially greater capacity for lateral stretching than for longitudinal stretching.

The knitting of the panty fabric 13 is effected with pre-tensioning of the spandex yarn, in a manner well known in the art, whereby the fabric offers substantial resistance to lateral elastic stretch even as the stretching commences from the unstretched condition of the fabric. This pre-tensioning is important in attaining the desired resistance of the panty to downward displacement on the body incident to bending movements of the wearer and the resulting downward pull exerted by the stockings. In general, the amount of such pre-tensioning should be at lest sufiicient to ensure the previously described relationship between the resistances of the pantry fabric and the stocking fabric to lateral stretching, but it should not be so great as to unduly limit the maximum amount of lateral stretch of the panty.

By way of example, the panty fabric 13 may consist of about percent spandex and about 90 percent nylon.

The stockings 11-12 may be nylon hosiery and as illustrated are of the seamless circular knit type. Because of the panty construction, each leg opening of the panty can stretch at least as far as the maximum lateral stretch of the stocking at its upper portion.

In cases where the stockings 11 and 12 include spandex yarn, the knitting of the respective integral portions forming the welts 24 and 25 is efiected with a reduced proportion of the spandex as compared with the remaining main portions of the stockings. Thus, the double layers of fabric forming the welts will not impose undue restriction to stretching of the garment in the regions of the welts.

By way of example, the stocking fabric exclusive of the welts 24-25 may consist of 20 percent of spandex yarn and 80 percent of stretch nylon yarn, while the welts may consist of 0-19 percent of spandex yarn and 81-100 percent of stretch nylon yarn.

When increased longitudinal tension is created in the stockings by bending movements of the wearer, thereby increasing the downward pull on the panty at its leg openings, there will be no downward displacement of the panty in its entirety, although there will be some local stretching thereof longitudinally. Moreover, when the wearer returns to an erect position, even those parts of the panty which were previously stretched longitudinally will return to their initial positions, and the stockings will be maintained with a smooth appearance. Throughout these movements of the wearer, the stockings are prevented from effecting a permanent displacement of the panty because the latters holding power exceeds the pull imposed by the stockings in the downward direction.

As shown particularly in FIG. 2, the edges l4a-l4b and [50-15 slant inwardly from the lateral indents 16-17 toward the respective ends of the panty piece 13. Thus, when these edges are seamed together at 18 and 19 (FIG. 1) as previously described, the panty will have an upwardly tapering girth. This contouring of the panty, which is preferred, provides it with a still greater holding power for resisting downward displacement.

In producing the new garment, the elastic waist band 22 may be seamed to the main body portion 20 of the panty afier providing one of the side seams l8 and 19. Then the other side seam is formed and the stocking welts are seamed to the panty. If desired, a tab (not shown) may be secured inside the garment at the juncture of the last-formed side seam and the band For good results the spandex in the panty fabric 13 should be 50 to 2l0 denier raw spandex. In cases where the stockings include spandex, the latter should be 15 to l00 denier.

It will be understood that the new panty-hose may be constructed for use as a maternity garment.

lclaim:

1. In a panty-hose garment, the combination of a panty comprising a unitary piece of knit fabric forming a main body portion and a crotch portion and having at opposite sides,

respectively, two vertical seams extending from upper to lower edges of said mam portion, sard crotch and mam portions being integral and defining leg openings, a pair of knitfabric stockings, seams joining said stockings to the panty around the respective leg openings, each of said panty and stocking fabrics having a substantial capacity for lateral stretch transversely of the length of the garment, said capacity being measured in terms of the maximum lateral stretch per linear unit of unstretched fabric, said panty fabric including a substantial proportion of spandex yarn and having a substantially greater resistance than the stocking fabric to said lateral stretch over each increment thereof measured as a percentage of said maximum stretch.

2. The combination according to claim I, in which said panty fabric has a substantially greater capacity than the stocking fabric for said lateral stretch.

3. The combination according to claim 1, in which the girth of the panty tapers gradually upward from the lower ends to the upper ends of said vertical side seams, whereby the panty is contoured to resist downward slipping on the wearer's body.

4. The combination according to claim 1, in which each stocking includes a welt at its upper end portion, said seams joining the welts to the panty.

5. The combination according to claim 4, in which the stocking fabric below each welt includes a substantial proportion of spandex yarn.

6. The combination according to claim 5, in whichthe yarn forming said welt includes 10 most a proportion of spandex which is substantially less than said proportion below the welt.

7. The combination according to claim I, in which said seams joining the stockings to the panty are of the break-open over-edging type wherein the seam threads form successive loops surrounding abutting edges of the seamed members, said loops being disposed transversely of the seam and being free of interlocking, whereby the seam is expandible lengthwise thereof.

8. The combination according to claim 7, in which each leg opening of the panty is stretchable at least as far as the maximum lateral stretch of the corresponding stocking at its upper portion.

9. The combination according to claim 1, in which the panty fabric comprises about 10 percent spandex and about 90 percent stretch nylon.

10. The combination according to claim 1, in which the panty fabric comprises about l0 percent raw spandex of approximately 70 denier and about 90 percent stretch nylon of approximately 50 denier.

11. The combination according to claim 1, in which said spandex is 50 to 210 denier raw spandex, said stocking fabric including a substantial proportion of 15 to denier spandex.

# i i i 

1. In a panty-hose garment, the combination of a panty comprising a unitary piece of knit fabric forming a main body portion and a crotch portion and having at opposite sides, respectively, two vertical seams extending from upper to lower edges of said main portion, said crotch and main portions being integral and defining leg openings, a pair of knit-fabric stockings, seams joining said stockings to the panty around the respective leg openings, each of said panty and stocking fabrics having a substantial capacity for lateral stretch transversely of the length of the garment, said capacity being measured in terms of the maximum lateral stretch per linear unit of unstretched fabric, said panty fabric including a substantial proportion of spandex yarn and having a substantially greater resistance than the stocking fabric to said lateral stretch over each increment thereof measured as a percentage of said maximum stretch.
 2. The combination according to claim 1, in which said panty fabric has a substantially greater capacity than the stocking fabric for said lateral stretch.
 3. The combination according to claim 1, in which the girth of the panty tapers gradually upward from the lower ends to the upper ends of said vertical side seams, whereby the panty is contoured to resist downward slipping on the wearer''s body.
 4. The combination according to claim 1, in which each stocking includes a welt at its upper end portion, said seams joining the welts to the panty.
 5. The combination according to claim 4, in which the stocking fabric below each welt includes a substantial proportion of spandex yarn.
 6. The combination according to claim 5, in which the yarn forming said welt includes 10 most a proportion of spandex 90 which is substantially less than said proportion below the welt.
 7. The combination according to claim 1, in which said seams joining the stockings to the panty are of the break-open over-edging type wherein the seam threads form successive loops surrounding abutting edges of the seamed members, said loops being disposed transversely of the seam and being free of interlocking, whereby the seam is expandible lengthwise thereof.
 8. The combination according to claim 7, in which each leg opening of the panty is stretchAble at least as far as the maximum lateral stretch of the corresponding stocking at its upper portion.
 9. The combination according to claim 1, in which the panty fabric comprises about 10 percent spandex and about 90 percent stretch nylon.
 10. The combination according to claim 1, in which the panty fabric comprises about 10 percent raw spandex of approximately 70 denier and about 90 percent stretch nylon of approximately 50 denier.
 11. The combination according to claim 1, in which said spandex is 50 to 210 denier raw spandex, said stocking fabric including a substantial proportion of 15 to 100 denier spandex. 